A montage of best right-handed punches in history of MLB fights

Ian Desmond doubled as the next batter to drove home the game-tying run.

The Cubs enter play on Sunday with a remarkable 27-9 record after their first 36 games. As a consequence, they have a remarkable eight-game lead in the NL Central over the Pirates, and keep in mind that this is a division that yielded three playoff teams in 2015. As well, the SportsLine Projection Model gives the Cubs a whopping 99.7 percent chance of making the playoffs.

In celebration of this incredible performance thus far, let’s run down a few facts, nuggets, and bits of historical context regarding the 2016 Cubs to date …

Just three teams won more games than the 2016 Cubs over their first 35. Those three teams are the 1984 Tigers (30), the 1939 Yankees (28), and the 1928 Yankees (28). Each of those three teams went on to win the World Series. Each Yankees model swept the Fall Classic, while the Tigers prevailed over the Padres in five games.

Well, I can’t stop it. I’m not God. But I do lord over these DL rankings, which give you some idea what to do with your precious few DL slots. The players are ordered by “stashability,” which is determined by three qualities:

How good is the player?
How hurt is the player?
What’s the timetable?

Notice that timetable is only third in priority. It’s not simply a matter of how soon these players are coming back but how pleased you’ll be that you stashed them when they do — which is, of course, partially determined by how long you had to wait.

Some players just aren’t worth it, particularly once your DL slots begin to overflow onto your bench. So if nothing else, hopefully this list will help you determine if you can swap out that 15th-round pick of yours for someone of more immediate use.